Read Chapter 1: The Principal’s Office

1. What is the setting (where and when)?

2. How is the setting different than you predicted?

3. Who is Mr. Kristie?

4. Who is Mr. Knowles?

5. Is Mr. Knowles fair to Al and Gus?

6. What did Al show Gus after they left the principal’s office?

Read Chapter 2: The White Pine

1. What was Mr. Kristie’s class studying?

2. Why did he want them to learn about lumbering?

3. How did White Pine School get its name?

4. How much lumber had the state of Michigan produced by the year 1897?

5. When did the Michigan lumbering era start?

6. Why was the white pine a favorite tree of the lumbermen?

7. What did Mr. Kristie do to help his students learn how lumberjacks lived?

8. Why do you think lumberjacks used strange musical instruments?

9. Why would it have been important for them to have music and songs?

10. Why do you think the saw fiddle was give its name?

11. Why do you think Gus was glad to have Al absent during his attempt to play the saw?

Read Chapter 3: The Fire

1. How did Gus happen to catch Al playing with fire?

2. Why didn’t Gus just run away from the fire?

3. What else could Gus have done when he saw what Al was doing? Why didn’t he do that instead?

4. Do you think Gus did the right thing? What else could he have done?

5. Who do you think will be blamed for causing the fire? What makes you think so?

Read Chapter 4: The Awakening

1. Why are there suddenly new characters in the story?

2. How are the new characters similar to the ones in the first chapters?

3. How are the new characters different from the earliest ones?

4. Where is Gus now?

5. What has happened to him?

6. How do you think he got in this camp?

Read chapter 5: "Breakfast" pp. 41-56

Group work: Make a list

Group 1: Jobs in a lumberjack camp

Group 2: What lumberjacks wear

Group 3: What lumberjacks eat and drink

Group 4: Places and things in a lumberjack camp

Group 5: List as many things as you can made out of wood.

Put a star next to the things made out of wood then and now.

Group 6: List materials we use to make things besides wood.

Read chapter 6: "The Camp" pp. 57-69

1. How did the lumberjacks get the logs out of the woods?

2. Why would they haul the logs to the river bank?

3. Why would the teamsters want to keep the tote roads smooth and slick?

4. What is the attitude about work in the camp?

5. Do you think Gus does his share? Should he do more?

6. Why weren't lumberjacks very clean?

7. How were rivers and lakes critical to transportation in the early days of our country?

8. List the many and varied ways rivers and lakes were used?

9. What would you like about lumberjack life?

10. What would you dislike about lumberjack life?

11. How is Gus's life in the lumberjack camp different from his life in the present time?

Read chapter 7: "A Full Day" pp. 70-86

1. What did the lumberjacks eat for lunch?

2. Why do you think the lumberjacks ate such huge meals?

3. Why do you think the cook's helpers took the food out to the lumberjack's instead of having them come back to eat?

4. Why do you think the lumber camp has a cow?

5. Why did Addie strain the milk?

6. Why did Alex have to chop so much wood?

7. Do you think Gus will ever learn how to do things right?

Read chapter 8: "A Greenhorn's Welcome" pp. 87-99

1. What did the lumberjacks use for mattresses?

2. What did the lumberjacks do for entertainment or amusement?

3. Why didn't Gus want to chew tobacco?

4. Why did the lumberjacks say they chewed tobacco?

5. Why were the lumberjacks dirty? What would they have had to do to wash themselves or clean their clothes?

6. Why would it have been important for the lumberjacks to have rules about how to behave?

Changes over the years

1. How has society's view of child labor and education changed through the years? Why?

2. How have people's ideas about smoking and chewing tobacco (and drinking alcohol) changed over the years? Why?

3. How have people's views about describing or labeling people by their ethnic/racial background changed over the years? Why? -

4. How have people's views about cleanliness and preventing illness changed over the years? Why

5. How has entertainment or amusement changed over the years? Why?

Read chapter 9: "A Lousy Night" pp. 101-109

1. How many different names for lice can you find in this chapter? What is the real name for ONE of these creatures?

2. How did the lumberjack's clean up in the morning? Why didn't they take a shower and brush their teeth?

3. Why did Gus begin to wish that he was back home?

4. Do you think Gus is ever going to get back home? Give reasons for your answer.

5. How did Addie help protect Gus from Alex

6. How did Tommy make Gus feel better?

7. How do you think the lumberjacks would like it if they could somehow step into the present?

8. Make a list of sentences to describe how the lumberjack feels and thinks about something different in the present?

Read chapter 10: "The Fight" pp. 110-122

1. Why didn't Alex want to help Addie make pancakes?

2. How did Gus finally have a chance to show how smart he is?

3. What caused the fight?

4. Who do you think put the salt in the sugar bowls?

5. What helped Gus to feel better after the fight?

6. Why does Gus always get blamed for the things Alex does? What can he do about it?

7. Why does Alex get away with things?

Read chapter 11: "A Thing or Two" pp. 123-135

1. What extra job did the Big Push give Gus?

2. What did Gus think was the reason Alex put the salt in the sugar bowls?

3. What do you think makes Alex so obnoxious?

4. What did Gus want to do with the boots? Why did he decide not to?

5. What did the lumberjacks like to do in the evening for entertainment?

6. Why did the man who read the story have trouble?

7. Why did the men like it when Gus read? Why were they so impressed?

8. What does Moonshine mean by "the Good Book"?

9. What did the men decide should be done when they found out who put the salt in the sugar bowls?

10. What do you think the men will do to teach Alex a lesson? What do you think should be done?

Read chapter 12: "The Accident" pp. 136-157

1. What happened to the boots?

2. Who was responsible for this?

3. Why did Addie try to stop Tommy from yelling at Alex?

4. What happened to Tommy when he finally did yell at Alex?

5. What did the Push tell Gus he had to do?

6. What did Tommy say he would do to help Gus?

7. How did the Push think that Gus and Alex should settle their "problem"?

8. What did the Push tell Tommy to do about Napolean? Why?

9. What did Tommy do to Napolean?

10. What caused the accident?

11. What did Gus do to protect himself and Alex from the cougar?

12. Who saved them? How?

13. Why did the Push change his mind about Tommy and Gus?

14. Do you think Alex will change?

15. Do you think the things that happened in this chapter will make people change their minds about Gus? How might the lumberjacks see him differently?

16. Do you think Gus feels differently about himself now?

Read chapter 13: "The Hero" pp. 158-164

1. How did Mr. Kristie explain Gus's burned hands?

2. How did Mr. Kristie explain Al's injured foot?

3. What other explanations do you have for these injuries?

4. Do you think Al has learned his lesson?

5. Do you think Gus's experiences in the lumberjack camp were real or just a dream?

6. How do you think Al will treat Gus now?

7. What is one thing that makes you think it could be more than a dream?

8. What do you think might happen between Mr. Kristie and Gus's mother?